I am loving the new jumpsuit from Baiastice for Collabor88. It comes in two versions for each of the twelve colors it comes in, with a plain, solid bodice or with a lace bodice. I chose the lace bodice because I was feeling frisky.
The veggie tray, apple pie, salt and pepper shakers and waffle iron can all be found at The Arcade.
The uncertainties of life are manifest every day. Some uncertainties are harder than others. My sister has Stage IV lung cancer. But her future is still uncertain, it’s quite possible the chemo will kill her long before the cancer can. She’s been in the hospital for two weeks now as a mold has developed in her lungs, thanks to chemo bringing her white blood cell count down to zero. On Thursday, I learned she has developed VRE, a anti-biotic resistant bacteria similar but much more rare than MRSA, the OMG of countless House episodes. Of course, because when you are going to ER three times a day for 90 minute infusions of antibiotics, you develop anti-biotic resistant bacteria. I think it is time for her to eat a lot of dessert. Ice cream, apple pie, chocolate cake, brownies and coffee nips. Go for it!
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Baiastice Turban at Hair Fair Bandana Booth
The writer Shana Alexander wrote,”Hair brings one’s self-image into focus; it is vanity’s proving ground. Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices.” This was brought home to me when visiting my sister who has lost her hair to chemotherapy. Most of the time, she wore a jaunty cap on her head, but she also had a couple wigs. One for each time she got cancer. Get cancer, win a prize! She would dither over what to wear, trying on hats, scarves and her two wigs, turning her head this way and that. It was terribly important because it, more than anything else, allows her to feel normal, to go out into the world without confronting the avid concern of the people she encounters. She does not want her cancer to be prayed over or a topic of conversation. She knows what will be will be and she’s doing her damnedest to struggle to live well while she is living.
Kunglers Milena Earrings and El Dorado Necklace.
Imagine for a moment, how much more important that must be for a child. To not have to deal with questions or pity. Pity is hard to take. It is corrosive and erodes your sense of self, your agency, your power. Does anyone really, deep in their hearts, want pity? Compassion, understanding, empathy? Yes, a thousand times, but pity? Never.
Children feel the same emotions that adults do, but they don’t necessarily have the tools to protect themselves from intrusive curiosity or well-meaning but painful pity, or even worse, the mockery of unkind and unthinking children. For them, a wig can be a shield from pain, the armor of confidence. That is why Hair Fair is so important – raising funds to buy wigs for children suffering for whatever kind of hair loss, whether from alopecia or from chemotherapy.
My mother always told me to dress up when I felt tired, to dress happy when I was sad, and to recognize that sometimes clothing is more than something to safeguard modesty, provide warmth and protection from the elements, solicit attention, or display personal style and taste. Sometimes it is also a therapeutic carapace, a shell that hides our weaknesses and counters our grief and sorrow with defiant counterpoint.
Joy Sewing of the Houston Chronicle wrote a fun article called Why a yellow dress is more than a yellow dress. Could anyone who is feeling low find a more perfect carapace to project power, strength and joy than this bold, yet minimalist, sheath from Thalia Heckroth™?
Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us not to look at sunset as the end, but as a promise of a new beginning. It seemed somewhat appropriate for this post featuring several items from the June showcase at Collabor88. Tomorrow is the final day. Collabor88’s sun sets at midnight, but brings the promise of a new dawn at midnight on the 8th when the July Showcase opens with its brand new theme, Treasured Memories. I so love that Collabor88 avoids the cliche themes and color schemes that tend to surround holidays.
June’s theme was crisp and clean and that’s how I feel in this lovely set from Zaara. The coverup comes in sheer and opaque options and fits perfectly over the swimsuit. There’s a HUD to specify the suit color and whether the trim is silver or gold
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I am back after traveling to Minnesota to visit my family. It was wonderful to see my sisters and my brother, my nieces, nephews, greats and great grands. Thirty three showed up last Saturday to visit despite 70% chance of rain. It rained. A lot. But we stood under trees and stayed dry, though the table of food looked quite forlorn. Fortunately, my clothing was drip dry, as is this delightful short and sassy dress from Hucci for Collabor88.
So I am still enjoying that list of untranslatable words. This one seemed so perfect for Gidge and me, though then I decided to Google Translate it and discovered it was Swedish, not Norwegian. However, the full meaning was even more appropriate, two people whose work together make them more well-known than their separate identities, a dynamic duo if you will. Like BeBop and Rocksteady or Hans Solo and Chewbacca. Speaking of which…
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Gemütlichkeit is a world I picked up from this wonderful web site I found the other day. Even it it means you wander away for hours, I want you to check you out. It’s a collection of untranslatable words. Words that convey concepts, that have no equivalent in our language, at least not in a single word. It is fun.
I am wearing the dress I wore in my last blog post, in a print this time. It comes in a solid or print version with six options in the texture huds. My last post was nothing but head shots, so I wanted to show you the back which is just so adorable. The house is the San Clemente from Barnesworth Anubis. It’s a great house and I will show you around inside, but the name makes me think of Richard Nixon, since that was where he was from.
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Clawtooth by Clawtooth Over and Over
Ram Dass, a pop spirituality writer, once said, “We are all just walking each other home.” It is a quote that has stayed with me since the day I first heard it.
Bubbles Clawtooth is walking his mother home. Bubbles’ mama has ALS, a neurodegenerative disease created to break hearts and spirits, but Bubs is too strong, too busy, and too needed to fall apart except perhaps for moments of silent screaming while driving to the pharmacy or grocery store. Because he is her child and her caretaker, he wrote that he feels like “the primary joy in her world which is both a treasure and a large cross to bear. Being strong when your heart feels like it’s shattering along with there being 24-hour needs and very little time for autonomy is by far the most difficult thing Bubs has ever had to face (and Bubs has faces some things darlings). It’s a living nightmare in one moment and a dear treasure the next.” Bubbles finds the strength in his love and joy in his service, but that does not make this walk easy.
Sometimes it helps when someone walks with you a little distance,even if only in spirit. So I propose a Blogger Challenge to show our support and solidarity with Bubbles.
Yes, life is too short to wear boring clothes, but that does not mean that your clothes must be outré. Everyday casual clothing can avoid boring with great details and design. When the pants length is perfect, the collar points are sharp, and the drape is flattering, casual clothing is elevated, not boring. Check out the online stores for Delta Sigma Theta paraphernalia that can add an amazing look and style to your casual wear.
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